Titania and The Hunter
Chapter 39: Waves of Limbo
*Sniff*Sniff*
You're right Church. Ain't that a bitch.
On another note- I think, I THINK, I'm setting up some proper links on my webpage again if you want to check. Only videos so far but I'm getting some good ones on there. I would suggest the link about explaining RWBY to new people.
Thank you for helping me reach 1900 reviews.
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The beach outside of Akane Resort was brimming with happy people and loungers resting on the sands.
Lucy stood up in her bright white swimsuit and gave a big smile as she held up the inflatable ball she had brought to play with her friends. She asked, "Guys, wanna play a little?"
"Yeah!" Natsu cheered as he jumped to his feet with excitement, "That sounds awesome!"
Happy flew up with a shower cap on his head, "Aye!"
Lucy stepped back before hitting the soft ball into the air, "Ready!"
Happy flew over and knocked it higher into the air, "Set!"
"And!" Natsu leapt up with his hands engulfed in flames. He pulled back with a massive grin before slamming it down, "SPIKE!"
The ball flew down at blistering speeds and Lucy yelled as she ducked to avoid the speeding ball. It blew through half of a sandcastle and nearly took Gray's head off from where he was resting on a towel. The inflatable ball popped from the stress after a moment and the busty blonde glared at her friend, "Natsu! That was the only ball I brought!"
"Dammit you idiot!" Gray yelled furiously as he stomped forward and knocked over the other half of the sandcastle that had been destroyed. The Maker Mage flared his teeth at the Dragon Slayer and yelled accusingly, "You nearly took my head off with that freakin' ball, dumbass!"
Natsu looked aside, "Well you don't have a brain in there anyway so it's not like you would be losing anything."
"Huh?!" Gray grabbed Natsu's shoulder and yelled directly in his face, "What was that Charcoal?!
"You heard me Icicle!" Natsu threatened back as he raised his fist, "I said your head is totally empty and you can't get brain damage when you're missing a brain in the first place!"
"Oh you're one to talk! You got so much space in your head you could rent it for free space!"
Lucy sighed exhaustively as her teammates once again did their usual yelling game. She palmed her face, "Again? Seriously guys?"
Natsu and Gray growled threateningly at each other before separating. Gray cracked his neck, "Looks like I'm gonna need to kick your worthless ass a little to get my point across, huh?"
Natsu scowled and cracked his knuckles, "Your welcome to try asshole. But I'm gonna smack you around just for saying it."
The two boys showed their teeth and got ready to beat the living shit out of one another-
"Gray. Natsu."
Their skin went ashen as the two boisterous males looked over in absolute horror as they stared at the redhead that had returned from grabbing a snow cone from a vendor at the edge of the beach. As the two men shook in fear, Erza slowly turned her head to look over at the sandcastle she had been working on for the last hour. She closed her eyes and remained quiet...
She held the treat out behind her, "Hold my cone."
Naruto sighed before taking her snack and placed it with the tray holding the other ones they bought. He gave it a quick lick before nodding, "At least make it quick."
Erza nodded as she slowly walked towards them, "Absolutely."
"E-Erza wait-"
"We can work this-"
"No more talking!"
"GAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Naruto just walked over to where Lucy and Happy were standing off to the side and offered them both a cone from the tray. Lucy picked up a cone and licked the delicious treat before she sighed, "Do these two ever stop fighting about everything?"
Naruto answered the busty blonde with a shake of his head, "Well considering I've known them for about 7 years and it's been nothing but yelling and punches between them...nope."
"Watching those two fight is one of the first memories I have. Yelling insults and being angry and punching each other and blood. It brings back a ton of fun times!" Happy's morbid nostalgic trip was interrupted when he licked his cone and frowned. He looked up at the whiskered male, "Couldn't you have gotten me some trout-flavored ice instead?"
Naruto and Lucy shared a quick look before he glared at the blue cat, "Y'know what...next time we get snow cones, you can check with them yourself."
Erza walked over and gave a relieved sigh, "Well, I think I've resolved that little problem. They shouldn't be acting up anymore from now on."
Naruto, Lucy, and Happy leaned over and saw other people around the beach stare quietly and avoid the spot where two lower bodies stuck out of the sand while twitching. Erza didn't seem to notice as she plucked her snow cone out of the tray and went back to enjoying her yummy treat.
Lucy took a moment while eating her snack and looked around at her team. Erza ditching her usually composed and stern attitude in favor of sitting in the sand and feeling the soft sand under her feet. Naruto happily worked with Happy to raise a sandcastle out of the beach. It was a big difference compared to the other outings and missions they had gone out on together recently.
When was the last time she had gone to the beach?
Well technically she was at the beach in Hargeon when she first met Natsu more than a month ago.
Okay, when was the last time she went to the beach for fun?
No recent thought came to mind.
But she remembered a time just like this. The warm sun bearing down and enveloping her. The shifting and subtle softness of the sand beneath her feet. And the fuzzy warmth of playing with people she treasured and felt comfortable with. The blonde beauty smiled lightly while looking around at her friends before asking, "Hey guys, why don't we play something?"
Erza looked up from where she was lounging, "What did you have in mind?"
"Hmmmm." Lucy looked up in thought before she snapped her fingers triumphantly, "How about we see who can make the best sandcastle?"
"Yeah! Biggest and best sandcastle wins!" Naruto declared loud enough for all of them to hear. He kneeled back down around the sandcastle he was already making, "This one's mine! Ready set GO!"
Happy looked up at his whiskered brethren in shock, "What?! I was making this one too! You're just stealing it from me?!" He cried a little and dramatically ran away, "Traitor!"
"All you did was put a twig on the top mound! Learn to contribute more if you want credit you little freeloader!"
"Traitor!" Happy ran over to the legs planted in the sand and nudged them softly, "Natsu! We're making sandcastles! I need your help!"
Natsu's legs started to bend before he popped out of the sand with an eager pounce. He didn't seem the least bit taxed by the beating and planting he had gone through as he looked down at his best friend, "Got it Happy! Let's make the most kickass sandcastle ever!"
"Aye sir!"
Gray followed up and popped out of the sand next. He rubbed some of it out of his hair before he scoffed, "You think you could make a good sandcastle Natsu? Somehow I can just see you wrecking that just like everything else you touch."
Natsu looked back and scowled at the ebony-haired man, "Yeah well we'll see about that jerk." Natsu looked down again before grimacing and looking away, "By the way, this isn't a nude beach."
"Nude beach?" Gray looked down, "The hell are you-NOOOO! COME ON!" Gray covered his nudity in an effort to shield it from the prying eyes of anyone on the beach. He immediately turned back to the hole he was planted in and started digging it up to find his trunks.
Unbeknownst to him, their was a shrill gasp and moan from a woman as she passed out from joy behind a pair of bushes.
Naruto was quickly patting the sand down to make it more compact and tougher to fall apart. There was no way he was gonna lose out to any of his friends in a challenge like this! He pulled and pressed down on the mound of sand to try and make a tower out of it. After taking a moment to make a few crude towers, he looked around to see the others were steadily making progress.
The whiskered man grumbled a little at the fact he was losing his advantage before an idea popped into his head. He jumped to his feet and away from his masterpiece and smiled, "If you wanna make a bigger castle, you just need more material!" He held out his fist and covered it in magic until it gave off a bright glow. He smiled and punched the ground, "Flying Gauntlet!"
A sand cloud exploded from beneath and Naruto found himself in a massive empty hole he had created. With this, a ton of sand was displaced above on the beach and he could use that to fortify his castle! He climbed his way out of the ditch...
And found that there was no pile of sand anywhere in sight.
Naruto looked around in surprise and shock, "W-wait what the hell? Where's my sand?! Where'd it-"
He probably got his answer when he looked over and saw two large piles of sand now resting beside Natsu and Gray's attempts at castles.
His eyes twitched with annoyance before he growled out, "Did you guys steal my sand?"
Gray didn't look at him, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Natsu smirked and added more sand to his pile, "First come first serve, Naruto! Sorry man!"
Happy stood atop the pile of sand and pointed a paw at the blond mockingly, "All's fair in sandcastle building and war! Guess you're just gonna have to pick up the slack and hurry up!" He teased and giggled, no doubt finding joy in teasing the man that had kicked him off the original building team.
Naruto furrowed his eyes in displeasure as he knelt down to his feet and looked around for something in the sand.
Happy perched himself on the top of the growing castle as Natsu worked on its foundation. He looked down at his partner, "Hey Natsu, once we're done beating everyone else with our sandcastle, you wanna go get some fish and go to the amusement park!"
Natsu looked up and grinned, "Totally!" He started laughing with his best friend, "We're gonna wanna celebrate how we win!"
"Aye!"
*Swish*
Natsu and Happy's jovial expressions disappeared when they heard a swift piercing sound in the air before deafening silence. Suddenly, the castle crumbled entirely on the spot and Happy was smothered by the sand. Natsu looked down in shock at all his hard and stolen work turned to ruin in the blink of an eye. He noticed a little bump in the sand and pulled out a seashell, "W-who-"
"Awwwww~, what's wrong guys?" Natsu looked over and saw Naruto bouncing some seashells in his hand as he smirked, "Did things not go too well for you two? Guess things aren't always fair in sandcastle building and war, huh?"
Natsu snarled and showed his teeth at the whiskered blond that was pressing him to react. But before the pink-haired boy charged to attack, he just smirked and covered his hand in fire. With a quick flick of the wrist he tossed the seashell as hard as he could and destroyed Naruto's sandcastle as well, "AHHHH! DAMMIT NATSU, WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"HOW ABOUT I ASK YOU WHAT THE FUCK?!" Natsu yelled back with equal ferocity, "DON'T GO BREAKING MY SANDCASTLE JERK!"
"DON'T STEAL MY SAND YOU IDIOT!" Naruto yelled back as he started pulling on Natsu's cheeks and stretched them out. Natsu retaliated and pulled on Naruto's cheek and hair.
The two boys kept struggling and arguing while getting looks of surprise from the other patrons around the beach. Gray spared them a look while making his castle and sighed, "Geez you two. Can you not cause a scene while the rest of us are-WOAH!" He jumped to his feet and created a shield of ice to block the seashell propelled towards him with extra speed from some wind. He yelled beyond the shield, "What the hell?!"
"You wanna criticize us, you're pulling yourself into a losing battle Gray! Now suffer!" Naruto started to pelt the shield with a barrage of seashells at blistering speeds as they left small cracks on the surface of the shield.
Despite the force and speed Naruto threw the projectiles, they weren't making any progress in piercing through any part of the sturdy ice shield. Gray smirked from behind his defense, "Sorry Naruto, but you're gonna need a lot more force to break through this baby than some seashells!"
"How 'bout a bomb?"
Gray's eyes widened and he looked up just in time to see Natsu floating over him with Happy's help. The blue cat dropped him directly above Gray and announced, "Bomb's away!"
"BANZAI!" Natsu enveloped himself in fire and roared as he landed and blasted away the sandcastle. Gray stood there in shock as the cloud of sand settled and he was covered head-to-toe in sand.
The Maker Mage looked over himself and shook with anger before he yelled at the Dragon Slayer, "DAMMIT HOTHEAD! NOW ALL OUR CASTLES ARE RUINED!"
Natsu yelled back and pointed at the blond, "BLAME NARUTO FOR BREAKING MINE FIRST! I WAS JUST EVENING THE FIELD!"
Naruto yelled back, "YOU GUYS SHOULDN'T HAVE STOLEN FROM ME!"
"SHUT UP!" Natsu yelled as he punched Naruto across the face. The whiskered man reacted and punched Gray across the face in return. Gray kicked Natsu in the stomach and the three boys turned into a pile of punches and kicks towards each other to shut them up.
"Guys, can you please stop fighting!" They all stopped and looked over at Lucy and her sandcastle. But it wasn't so much a crude sandcastle as a wonderful masterpiece of architecture constructed from sand. She focused on patting down the detailed tower, "You might mess up my castle!"
The three men stopped their brawling and shared a look with each other. A star twinkled in their eyes before they pounced towards Lucy castle to ruin it, "BANZ-AHHHHHHH!"
Before they reached Lucy's castle the ground beneath them fell out and they were dropped into a deep series of hidden holes.
Lucy stuck her tongue out playfully as Virgo popped out of the sand beside her. The maid spirit bowed her head respectfully, "Princess, the defenses for your kingdom worked exactly as you predicted them to. Congratulations."
Lucy smiled victoriously, "Thanks Vrigo! And nice job on the castle too! It's beautiful!"
"Will you now punish me Princess?"
"N-no, still not gonna do that." Lucy looked around at the state of her victory. A hole containing her most dangerous enemies. A stunned blue cat that could only gape at the fact that her stupid trap ditch plan actually worked. And finally-
"And...done." Erza said proudly as she finished one small tower of her castle as a child-like expression came over her face. She piled up some more sand to use, "And next, the main structure."
Lucy didn't know whether to consider her a threat in the game or just someone playing around. Probably the latter.
Virgo looked up at her Key holder, "Princess."
"What's up?"
"I should probably warn you that there is a rumbling occurring beneath the ground right now."
"What?" Realization finally dawned over Lucy's face as she groaned, "U-uh oh."
"WRAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Eruptions of fire, ice, and wind exploded from beneath the sand and caused the beach around them to shudder. The large sandcastle tumbled over and fell on top of Lucy as she was completely smothered. She popped out and spat up some sand before yelling, "Guys, you ruined it!"
Naruto burst out of the ground, "AHHHH, I DON'T CARE ABOUT CASTLES ANYMORE! THIS IS WAR!"
Gray popped out as well and was already molding his magic to attack, "SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!"
Natsu blasted the ground away from him in a pillar of fire as he cheered, "ALRIGHT! I'M ALL FIRED UP!"
People watched in amazement as the small group of young adults started releasing waves of elemental attacks in all directions. One moment fire erupted and engulfed the air above them. Then it immediately turned cold as ice suddenly popped up in its place. Then explosions and gusts of wind spread over the entire beach front. And strange people suddenly appeared from thin air and yelled while attacking.
Erza blissfully worked away on her sandcastle as the pandemonium occurred beside her with no worry. She happily finished with her crude but cute castle-
"WRAH!"
Only for an explosion to shake and topple her hard work. The redhead looked down in horror at the result of her efforts before she grit her teeth in anger. She stood up, shoulders shaking with fury and eyes hidden by her scarlet hair. She raised a fist-
"YOU IDIOTS!"
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"Please don't cause any more trouble while you're at the beach." A lifeguard told the group sternly, "There are other people trying to relax here too you know."
"We're sorry." The five young adults and blue cat bowed their head apologetically to the lifeguard after causing a big scene. The lifeguard nodded and went back to his post.
The group of Fairy Mages looked around at the effects their arguing and fighting had caused. Pillars of ice with spots of foliage either being toppled over from the wind or burning from the fire. Erza lowered her head in shame, "We went too far...again."
Lucy sweated a little, "Maybe we should try to do something a little easier?" She scratched her cheek, "Any suggestions guys?"
"Oh! Oh!" Natsu started waving his arms with eagerness as he pointed back towards the resort and grinned, "I say we go try some of the rides! I wanna ride the coaster around the resort! I hear you'll feel like your face is sliding off your head right away!"
Lucy went pale, "T-that just sounds horrifying. And what about your motion sickness?"
"We gotta try it out!" He reached over and grabbed Lucy's wrist, "C'mon Lucy! It's gonna be so much fun!"
Lucy went even paler, "W-wait! I-I hate park rides like that! I-I don't-Natsu! No! Stop pulling!" The former heiress had no say as she was pulled by Natsu into the heart of the amusement park located right beside the hotel and beach.
Happy followed after his friend with a moan, "Natsu~! We have to go look for fish-flavored food next! You promised!"
Gray followed behind at his own pace, "I'm gonna go buy some more of that shaved ice. Need something to get the taste of sand out of my mouth."
Naruto and Erza were the stragglers as they stood at the edge of the beach. The redhead crossed her arms and gave them a stern glare at their carefree attitude even after their misbehaving. She shook her head, "I know they're trying to relax, but we can't just ignore these moments when we are being told of our errors. They shouldn't..." She looked up to see Naruto with a conflicted look on his face as he stared at the amusement park entrance. She asked, "What is it?"
He bit his lip before bouncing on his toes, "I really wanna try the bumper cars."
Erza's eyes widened in surprise, "Do they really have bumper cars?"
"Yes!"
Erza looked back at the beach and struggled with her moral compass before coughing into her fist, "I suppose...us being told off is nothing new. We could remember this as a learning experience and-"
"C'mon! We're gonna be last in line!"
Erza abandoned her train of thought as she and her boyfriend sprinted towards the entrance to play in the park.
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Naruto walked out of the shower and was drying off his face and hair. He took a moment to make sure there was no remaining smell of sand or salt water over his body before he gave a satisfied nod and walked out into his room. He walk out naked with his towel around his neck, "Erza, shower's free." He headed towards the closet and looked around for his clothes before he realized he hadn't received a reply from the woman, "Erza?"
He looked around the room to see that she wasn't sitting in the chair or on the beds. He stepped around and finally noticed her resting back in a lounge chair on the balcony of the hotel room in her bikini. The long day of playing with the others on the beach, riding thrill rides for hours, and bathing in the warm setting sun had caused her fatigue to win and sleep to settle over her.
He smiled warmly at the sight of the sleeping beauty, resting contently after a long day of fun. There was a lot he loved about Erza but one of his favorite things was when she relaxed, abandoned all the troubles that bothered them, and took the time to enjoy herself. She tried to shoulder so much of the guild's problems and responsibilities by herself because she was the only one that could really handle it. And he knew how much she needed this time to unwind. Probably even more than him.
Naruto decided to let her sleep and grabbed a pair of pants for their evening out with the others. He pulled them up over his legs-
"M-mmmm. Mmm! Mmm!"
He heard a soft moan of fear and discomfort as he looked back at the balcony. Erza's feet started kicking out on reflex and she started jerking around on the chair like she pushing something away. His eyes widened in shock as he immediately ran to her side and grabbed her arms forcefully, "Erza! Erza wake up!"
Erza's blue and brown eyes shot open in terror as she panted and looked around to confirm where she was. When she saw Naruto kneeling over her with his hands around her arms, she immediately figured out what had happened. She took a moment to catch her breath before she nodded, "I'm...I'm okay."
Naruto waited before gently letting go and allowing her to sit up in her chair. As she seemed to calm herself down with a deep breath and placed her feet back onto the balcony he finally broke the awkward silence, "It was a nightmare about the Tower, wasn't it?"
Erza was silent for a moment before giving a small nod. She sighed in disappointment before running her hand along her face, "It's been a while since the last one. I haven't had any reason to think about it until what happened with Zoback and his business." She shook her head, "There must have been a trigger and I..."
Naruto just gently squeezed her hand to comfort her as she needed a minute to collect herself. He was used to this process...
Sometimes, not very often but enough, she would have a dream reliving moments from their time in the Tower of Heaven. The work. The torment. The torture. The fear. The hopelessness. Eight years later and those things still stick. But he understood...
He had them sometimes too. One moment his eyes would get heavy and everything would go black. The next...
It would be too simple to say these were nightmares...it was like going back in time and experiencing those horrible things over and over again in their heads...
Like a personal peek into hell.
"I'm sorry." Erza's voice permeated the silence that was hanging between them, "I didn't mean to ruin the evening like this."
"Don't ever apologize for that." Naruto responded while squeezing her hand, "You've never told me to apologize when I wake up in the middle of the night like that."
"But it never happened to you when we're trying to relax and forget it like that." Erza stood out of the chair and took a moment to take a deep breath of the fresh air as the gleeful screams of the park patrons filled the background. Erza looked out towards the beach in silence before she looked down at Naruto, "I arrived a few miles down the beach when I came from the tower."
Naruto looked up at her in surprise before standing up and looking out in the same direction she was. He shook his head, "I didn't know that."
"I forgot myself. Akane Resort wasn't as big a place as it is now back then. It was just a hotel." Erza turned back around and held her arms together like she was hugging herself, "A lot has changed in that time. And some things not at all."
Erza stepped in front of the mirror inside the wall of their room and stared at herself for a moment. She rubbed her arm before looking down at her wrist and ankles to see a pattern of faded scar skin that had come from years of wearing shackles. She shook her head, "I still need to hide behind my armor after all these years. It feels like I haven't changed at all since I was a kid."
She suddenly felt a pair of arms encircle her waist and hold her closely. She leaned back a little as Naruto hugged her tightly from behind and rested his face in her hair. He whispered, "You've changed so much since back then. You've become one of the strongest people I've ever met and you're so brave. Braver than me. It doesn't matter that you need to hide behind armor sometimes. We all hide sometimes."
A small smile came over her face and she brushed his forearm, "Then how come you don't wear armor?"
"Who says I don't?" Naruto rested his head on her shoulder, "My first line of defense got broken recently after helping me hide for eight years."
"And you're next line?"
...
Naruto hugged her a little tighter, "She gives me strength everyday."
She looked in the mirror at Naruto's reflection fondly at his kind words. She held his arms warmly and closed her eyes in content. She did sometimes need to hide behind her armor...because she still felt fear from her past grip her mind like a bed of thorns. She felt safer behind her armor...
But she felt even safer when she was with him.
...
Erza's eyes widened in surprise when she felt a hard sensation poke her butt during the warm moment. She sighed exhaustively before droning, "Really? Now?"
Naruto looked aside with embarrassment as he laughed nervously, "Sorry. It just...it sorta popped up."
"I noticed." Erza joked before he lifted his head from her shoulder and she smiled, "I guess we have some time if you want."
He smirked as he pulled the tie on the back of her top and let the bikini fall from her chest. He smiled, "I love you so much."
"I know." Erza and Naruto shared a deep kiss as they prepared to get their money's-
*Knock*Knock*Knock* "Erza, you in there?" Lucy's voice came from behind the door as she entered with excitement, "The guys already went down to the casino and we wanted to..." Lucy blinked in confusion and hesitated to ask, "What-uh-what are you doing?"
Erza was alone, looking out proudly on the balcony as she had abandoned the top of her swimsuit to let her breasts free. She looked back and gave an awkward wave, "H-hello Lucy! I-I didn't expect you coming!"
"Y-yeah, sorry. I just wanted to tell you and Naruto we were going to the casino." Lucy pointed at Erza hesitantly, "So...what are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm just getting some air." Erza nodded and her large breasts jiggled slightly from her movements, "Yes it's always good to get some fresh air after a day of swimming like that. Good for the lungs."
"WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!"
"Yes thank you park strangers! I like you too!" Erza waved to the people that had passed by on the roller coaster long enough to see her flash them. She closed the door before turning back to Lucy, not minding at all that she still wasn't covering her chest, "I still need to take a shower so you should go on ahead."
"Yeah-uh-good idea." Lucy was about to step away before she asked, "Oh, where's Naruto? I wanted to tell him to come down too."
"Oh he's probably getting some ice. I'll tell him we're going down so you start cashing in."
"Got it." Lucy cheerfully agreed and closed the door.
Erza stood there in place for a moment to make sure she was actually gone before sighing in relief, "She's gone." She looked up at Naruto to see him fully sprawled out on the ceiling after jumping up to avoid an awkward scene with Lucy walking in on them about to do it. She wiped her forehead in relief, "We should probably hold off on doing anything until later tonight. Is that okay?"
"Mmmmmmm." Naruto whimpered.
Erza noticed the pained tone, "What's wrong?"
"I jumped up here too quick. I think I bent it."
...
"I should warn Lucy to wait for an answer before barging in. Save us all the trouble."
"And pain. So, so, so much pain."
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"The lady has a royal flush!"
"Woah!"
"That's her fifth hand in a row!"
"Who is she?"
Lucy clapped excitedly and hugged the woman around her shoulders, "Iyaa! Erza, you're so cool!"
"It's not much. I guess I'm just lucky." Erza modestly boasted while she was the center of attention for all the people watching her play poker. The others players on the table could do nothing but stare in shock at this amateur that walked up in such a flamboyant blue rose dress. She perked up, ready for the next hand, "Let's continue this little game. I'd love to see what plays next."
"She's on a roll!"
Further down the casino strip, Natsu and Happy watched eagerly as a roulette wheel spun at quick speeds with the ball bouncing around. The wheel finally started to slow down before coming to a complete stop, "14 Black. House wins."
"NOOO!" Natsu cried out as he grabbed the wheel and jerked it around, "The ball was in 7 Red for a moment! This thing is rigged! The wheel's knocking the ball around!"
"S-sir please stop! We need that wheel to play the game!"
Happy flew up and landed on Natsu's shoulder, "Natsu, it's okay! Just trust my judgement and we can still make a killing in this game! Just put it all on 39 Black!"
Natsu grinned and nodded, "Good idea Happy!" The Dragon Slayer slammed the wheel back down on the table, "All on 39!"
"S-sir, the board only goes up to-"
"I said 39, dammit!"
Gray shook his head at the echoing scream that reached their end of the casino. The Maker Mage pulled on the slot machine's lever and sighed tiredly, "Doesn't that idiot ever shut his mouth? You'd think his brain would die out with all that lack of oxygen."
Naruto shrugged while playing the slot beside him, "Yeah well maybe Natsu's learned to live without oxygen. Somehow it feels like he'd figure out someway to do that by accident. But you shouldn't be focusing too much on him. If you do..." Naruto pulled down his lever and immediately got a jackpot, "You're gonna get left behind! Woohoo!"
"What the hell?!" Gray yelled in exasperation while coins fell out of the coin slot in a massive wave of winnings. Naruto laughed cheerfully as the black-haired man shook his head, "How do you keep hitting the good slots?! That should be impossible!"
"Don't know. But it's fun getting all these coins." Naruto grinned and picked up another coin before sliding it in to play again, "You wanna just sit there staring at my awesome skills or do you wanna win back some money?"
Gray's eye twitched and he grumbled, "My machine's rigged. It's gotta be."
"U-Um...e-excuse me, Gray-sama?"
Gray heard somebody quietly whisper his name from behind. He turned around to see a lovely young lady with pretty pale skin and wearing a flattering blue dress that complimented her curvy figure. Her long blue hair was rolled into three stacked curls on each side of her head. Despite only meeting once, he immediately recognized her from the recent conflict with Phantom. She shyly nodded her head, "I-it's good to see you again."
"AH!" Gray jumped out of his seat, "It's you!"
Naruto leaned back to see who had scared Gray like that and saw the pretty young lady. He raised an eyebrow, "Someone you know?"
"S-she's a Mage from Phantom Lord! One of the Elemental Four!" Gray looked back at her in surprise, "We fought against each other when their guild came and attacked ours. She's a Water Mage and she's tough." Gray prepared for a fight, "If you came here for a rematch-"
"N-no no no! Not at all!" Juvia waved her arms at a rapid speed to stop any fighting breaking out between them, "Juvia isn't here to fight! And she doesn't want to fight about Phantom Lord anymore! She swears!"
Gray blinked in confusion before sharing a baffled look with Naruto. The whiskered man shrugged his shoulders before Gray turned back to the woman, "Well if you're not here to fight then why are you here?"
Juvia blushed with embarrassment and timidly spoke, "J-Juvia would like to talk with you about something, i-if you don't mind Gray-sama."
Naruto tilted his head, "Sama?"
"Well, if you wanna talk about something..." Gray scratched the back of his head before casually nodding, "I guess if you aren't mad then it'll be cool." Juvia brightened up in joy as he looked back at Naruto, "You gonna be okay by yourself?"
"Yeah." Naruto pulled on the lever again and got another good spin, "I'll just be hanging out here, winning back your losses."
Gray scowled, "Don't know why I bothered."
Juvia wrapped her arms around his bicep and pulled him along, "This way Gray-sama! This way!"
Naruto watched them walk off before focusing back on his slot. He pulled the lever again and watched as another good spin came to his favor as coins filled the deposit. He grinned and started collecting his winnings.
...
"Naruto Uzumaki?"
Naruto stopped when he heard the deep, unfamiliar voice speak his name while a large shadow spread over him. He couldn't see the man while he was directly behind him so he looked back at the coins he was counting, "I didn't cheat, if that's what you're gonna ask."
"It's not."
"Well that's good. Then what do you want?"
"I want to make sure that you are Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto stopped and tried to think about anybody that might want to start a fight with him since he got here. Someone from the beach? The amusement park? But he had done literally nothing during that time that was enough to enrage anyone to fight. Naruto decided to play this carefully and answered, "Yeah. That's me."
"Face me."
"Look, I'm not here to fight-"
"You must face me. I wish to at least look in your eyes again."
'Again?'
Naruto stood up and dusted off his pants before turning around to face the stranger, "Fine. I don't know what this is about but..."
Naruto finally had the chance to look over the man that towered over him by more than a foot. Half of his muscular body was revealed from a large strip of cloth only covering one side of his chest from his shoulder down to his waist. His hair was covered by a turban and his lower chin was covered by a metal jaw that made him look like an animal. And only one of his eyes actually worked, with the other hidden under an eyepatch with a thin scar under it that went down to his cheek.
Despite the threatening and intimidating look the man portrayed, Naruto didn't take any notice of it.
Despite the change of size...despite his change of voice...Naruto noticed something in the man's single eye.
A familiar gaze he had grown accustomed to afters years together.
Naruto's eyes widened as his pupils trembled in disbelief. He nearly lost his voice as his mouth opened and closed several times before finally speaking...
"S...Simon?" Naruto whispered out as he looked at the larger man in shock, "Simon...is that you?"
Simon stayed silent while his old friend seemed shocked at the fact that he was still alive. He gave a small nod to confirm this fact. Naruto gasped in disbelief before he stuttered, "S-Simon, I-I-I can't-I don't know-"
"Naruto."
Naruto looked up at the tall man with anticipation for what he had to say-
But was immediately brought out of his thoughts as Simon dug his fist into the Fairy Mage's gut. Naruto gasped from the feeling of the fist digging into his stomach before he was launched back through the slot machines from the surprising amount of strength behind the strike. The others patrons around the slots were terrified from the sudden commotion and ran away to avoid a fight.
Naruto groaned in the center of the broken machines as he slid down on his butt and groaned, "Ah. What the hell? How did-"
The whiskered man felt a cold sensation run over his body as a black mass formed over his stomach and spread in every direction around the broken machines. The tendrils of Darkness magic grasped the broken machines and pulled them all in with Naruto at the center. The blond tried to escape the prison of darkness and metal that devoured him as he reached out and yelled, "Simon! Si-"
The Darkness clasped shut and Naruto's scream was silenced.
Simon stared at the cube of black energy that concealed the Fairy Mage and closed his eye solemnly...
"I'm sorry Naruto...but you might be able to convince them. I'm sorry...but I need you to follow us back."
########Hunter########
Gray blinked in surprise, "You...you want to join Fairy Tail?"
"Yes! Very much so!" Juvia responded with a twinkle in her eye, "Since Phantom Lord was disbanded, Juvia has become an independent Mage. And in that time, Juvia has been looking around and she believes that Fairy Tail would be the best place to join. She knows how close you all are to each other. How much fun you have. How often you sleep without shirts on in your hotels."
"What was that?"
"Nothing." Juvia looked at her crush with a hopeful optimism, "What do you think Gray-sama? Do you think Juvia has a chance of joining?"
Gray was stumped and stayed silent for a moment in deep thought. He scratched his head, "Uhh...I'm not sure. I mean I guess I don't have a problem with it. And if you really aren't angry at us for causing Phantom to disband."
"Not at all." Juvia shook her head, "She understands why you chose to fight."
Gray shrugged and grabbed his margarita, "Then I guess it's really up to the guild if you can join. When we come back from the trip I can introduce you to Jii-San and then-"
"Wooooooooooaaaaaaahhhhhh~!"
Gray and Juvia stopped talking when they heard the excited and girly voice interrupt their dialogue. They looked over to Gray's other side as a young teenage girl was closely examining Gray's drink with a mesmerized gaze. The younger girl was wearing a bright yellow jacket with a pink shirt underneath with a bow. Her brown hair was tied up into two small ponytails on either side with the top of her hair looking similar to cat ears. She had red tattles on both cheeks that resembled whiskers and her cat-like eyes sparkled at the strange drink, "Oooooooooooooo~, I've never seen water like this before. It's got little crystals around it and everything~."
Gray blinked in confusion about this girl's strange fascination with his drink. He deadpanned, "Uh, that's because it's not water. It's a margarita."
"Mart-a-righta?" The girl looked at the drink in wonder before looking up at the Maker Mage, "Hey hey, can I try some of it please? I've never had one before! Please~!"
Gray just shrugged and offered it up, "Sure, knock yourself out."
The stranger took the drink and had a quick sip before her eyes widened and she gagged. She grimaced from the sudden and strong taste as she struggled to swallow the drink. She finally forced it down before shaking her head, "Ew. That tastes really bad. And I don't feel as spiffy as I did before."
Gray nodded, "It's a required taste."
Juvia watched from the side as this stranger not only interrupted their conversation, but she also got to drink from his glass! SHE GOT AN INDIRECT KISS! SO EASILY! She stood out of her seat and walked around her 'date' to face the stranger with a menacing glare, "Juvia is sorry, but this is unacceptable. It is very rude to just come over here next to strangers and drink from one of their glasses like that! Even Juvia hasn't gotten the chance to drink from the same glass as Gray-sama yet!"
Gray raised an eyebrow, "Why does that matter?"
The girl smiled and stood out of her seat before shaking her head, "Oh that's not a problem." She gave a cute smile, "I'm exactly with who I need to be here with."
"What are you-IYA!" Juvia was caught off guard when a strange stretchy tube wrapped around her body and locked her arms into an uncomfortable position. Gray jumped out of his seat in surprise as Juvia tried to escape but stood there in shock, "M-my body, Juvia can't escape!"
Gray slammed his fist into his palm, "Why you-"
"Catch."
The girl pushed the tangled Juvia forward and Gray had to catch her before she fell over. A second elongated tube appeared around them and tied itself around Gray and the already ensnared Juvia. They were trapped together as Gray and the Water Mage stuttered, "What the hell?!"
"See ya."
The girl got in their blindspot and slammed her palm into Juvia's stomach, sending them flying back into the bar's main structure and frightening the other people around the bar. Juvia moaned in pain as Gray lifted them both up and groggily shook his head, "Who is this girl?"
Another tube stretched into the corner of his eye and he watched it circle around a support pillar of the bar. She pulled it and the pillar broke instantly, sending the entire ceiling of the bar and its drinks crumbling down on top of the two trapped Mages.
The cat girl winked at her crushed enemies and waved goodbye, "Sorry but it's just because you guys are so spiffy."
########Hunter########
Natsu slammed his head down on the table in defeat, "Dammit! I! Can't! Win!"
Happy patted his back sympathetically, "It's okay Natsu! We can still pull a win out of this! Just put it all on B-8!"
"That's the eighth time I've had to put it all down!" Natsu cried a little, "I have nothing left to give Happy!"
"Sir if you're done playing can you please step aside. There are still other people trying to participate!"
Natsu groaned and slammed his face down in despair, "Dammit! Dammit! Da-a-a-ammit!"
"I've never seen a man act so pathetic and small before."
Natsu's anguish was completely abandoned as he jumped up to his feet and growled out threateningly, "Okay, who said that! You wanna start something!"
"I don't feel like starting a fight with a brat." The man who said it was dressed in a pristine blue suit with a scarf around his neck and hat on his head. He had a pair of sleek sunglasses and a small cigarette releasing a plume of smoke to complete his dandy image. However the whole look was completely ignored due to the fact that its wearer looked remarkably like his entire body was made of blocks, with jointed limbs and a strangely shaped chin as he glowered at the pink-haired man, "Men should stay tough and act dandy, not whining and complaining. Ain't you got any self-respect kid?"
Natsu had completely forgotten about the argument he was having because he was too mesmerized by the man's strange appearance. Happy was entranced by the look as well as they pointed at the man, "Block man."
The oddly shaped man took a deep drag of his cigarette before just shaking his head, "Can't believe I gotta waste my time with an un-dandy guy like this."
Natsu recovered from his shock and yelled at the man, "Hey, who the hell do you think you are! You wanna come over here and say that to my face!"
In an instant, the well dressed man jumped through the air and kicked Natsu's arms to the table, his feet becoming strange glowing blocks that pinned the Dragon Slayer to the roulette table. The dandy block man stood up over the surprised Fairy Mage before he looked aside towards all the frightened people, "You better run. You don't wanna get between a man and his mission."
The people all started retreating backwards and running away as Happy yelled, "Natsu!"
The dandy man pulled out a six-shooter before kneeling down and forcing the barrel of the gun into Natsu's mouth. The blue cat froze in fear as Natsu narrowed his eyes at the man holding the gun over him. The well-dressed man shook his head, "Nothin' personal kid. Maybe if you weren't so tough we coulda worked this out some other way. But unfortunately you are...and we ain't leavin' until we get our friend back."
########Hunter########
Lucy and Erza looked up from the game of poker they had finished and back towards the large casino area after hearing a strange commotion. Erza tilted her head, "Is something going on over there?"
Lucy just sighed and shook her head, "Natsu and the others better not be causing a scene."
Someone came up to the dealer behind the table and motioned over to the side, "Dealer change. It's my turn now." The former dealer stepped aside as the new dealer stepped into the back of the table as everyone turned back towards him. He grabbed a deck of cards and started shuffling and cutting it at fast speeds. He then started flicking cards out at a swift speed until only five cards laid facedown in front of Erza.
Other players at the table complained, "Hey buddy, we're still in this game too!"
"And this is poker! There's only supposed to be two cards for each player!"
The new dealer shook his head and motioned to the cards in front of the redhead, "Sorry gentleman but this next game is only for the pretty lady in front of me."
Erza looked down at the cards laid out before her before she took them and flipped them over.
D
E
A
T
H
"You really are pretty." The dealer looked up at the red-headed Mage and gave her a knowing smirk. The dealer was a young man in his late teens, with dark skin yet bright blond shaggy hair. He had a tattoo of the number five on his lower left chin and a cross-shaped earring on his left ear. He smiled at the redhead once more with an eager look in his eyes, "You've gotten so pretty since I last saw you...Nee-San."
Lucy stepped back away from the strange man worryingly, "What are you talking about? Erza, what is he..." Lucy stopped when she saw a strange look over Erza's face, "Erza?"
Erza was looking at the young man with constricted eyes as her whole body seemed to tremble in shock. She struggled to find the words before they finally passed between her lips, "S-Shō?"
He nodded, "That's right Nee-San. It's me."
Her shoulders seemed to shake a little less as a tear formed in her left eye, "Y-you're alive."
He shook his head, "Not just me."
Suddenly, the lights for the whole casino floor turned off and the room was engulfed in darkness.
"AH!"
"The lights!"
"Where is everybody?!"
"Erza what happened?!"
*Bang*
"Was that a gun?!"
The lights finally came back on and Lucy and Erza were the only people left standing around the table. They looked around in shock, "Where did everyone go?!"
"They're right here." Shō showed them a deck of cards with each one containing one of the civilians that crowded the table just a moment ago moving inside them. He tossed the cards up in the air before he walked around the table and started stalking towards the terrified girls, "They'll be released soon enough. I just didn't need any of them interrupting our reunion."
Erza stood out of her seat and could only stare at the young man she had not seen in years. She marveled, "You know how to use magic?"
Lucy yelled, "Erza, who is the guy! How do you-EEK!"
Erza looked back to see Lucy had been tied up and restrained by an orange tube. Lucy fell to her knees with hers arms being pulled back behind her head as a teenage girl stood beside her and pawed the air, "Heya Er-chan! You look so spiffy in that outfit!"
Erza couldn't believe the sight in front of her as she turned towards the younger girl, "Milliana?"
The girl gave a warm smile and nodded, "Yep."
"I know a dandy man should always be composed in front of pretty ladies." They looked aside as a blocky man in a suit walked up and put out his cigarette before tipping his hat towards Erza, "But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to see you again Erza. And not just because of the beautiful lady you turned into."
"Wally?" Erza shook her head in disbelief, "Your...you all...you're alive."
Milliana nodded cheerfully, "Yep. We all learned how to use magic since we last saw ya Er-chan! Now we're super strong too!"
"Many of us have changed a lot over the years Erza, but we are still the same people from back then." A portal of Darkness formed at the ground and a massive man with a turban and iron jaw grew out from it. He aimed his one eye at Erza, "Even if we may not look like it."
Erza's left eye started welling up again as a tear ran down her cheek, "Simon. You're all here."
Shō stepped forward, "That's right Nee-San. The old gang's back together."
"Erza!" Lucy looked up from her constrained position on the floor, "Who-who are these guys? How do they know you?"
Erza looked around solemnly and answered in a small voice, "Thye're...they're my family."
"Family?" Lucy questioned, "I-I don't, I don't get it! What are you-AH!" She tried sitting up but the rope around her tightened her arms and legs together and pulled her in closer to her back. She screamed in pain, "AH!"
"Lucy!" Erza panicked and looked around at her friends, "What are you doing?"
"It's my Nekōsoku Tube." Milliana proudly boasted, "My magic creates spiffy tubes that can bind just about anybody and lock away they're magic too. And the more they fight it, the tighter it gets. So soon enough she's gonna bend so far back her body snaps in half from the force."
Erza's eyes widened in horror at the cheerful way Milliana said she was slowly killing someone. She whispered out, "W-what?"
"Sealing away and scaring the civilians was an easy task when we found out you were coming here, Nee-San. But when we found out your new friends were coming here too, we had to be prepared." Shō answered, "We heard about how strong they were and how far they would go to help you if they thought something went bad...so we had to prepare ways to eliminate them as effectively as possible."
Erza and Lucy both felt a cold pit fill their stomachs when they realized Gray, Natsu, Happy, and Naruto hadn't shown up yet to hear what the commotion was about. Erza gulped, "You didn't-"
"We did what we had to do to meet you like this." Simon stated before looking around at the others, "And don't worry. I took care of 'Naruto'. He won't be a problem anymore."
When Simon said that, Shō, Milliana, and Wally suddenly seemed more pained and solemn then they were before. Shō closed his eyes and collected himself before nodding at his tall friend, "Thanks Simon. Even if it wasn't him, after all this time...I don't think we could've faced Nii-San like that."
"I understand."
"What are you taking about?" A sense of dread started filling Erza up as she looked around at her old comrades, "Where's Naruto? What did you-"
"It's okay now Nee-San. It'll all be okay now."
Erza went quiet when Shō said that. She looked at him, "What do you mean?"
Wally nodded, "We know how hard it's been for you since you left. And what you've been living with since you've been gone."
Milliana gave a warm smile, "But it's okay now Er-chan. You don't need to keep that burden with you any longer."
"What are you talking about?"
"He did it Nee-San." Shō gave a big, hopeful smile, "Jellal figured it out. He knows how to fix everything. How to set it all right again. We can bring everyone and everything back."
Erza looked at him in confusion, "What are you talking about?"
"We just need your help Nee-San." He offered her his hand, "We need you..."
"We need you to come back to the Tower."
Erza's eyes slowly widened and she processed what Shō was asking of her. She seemed to take a step back and shake her head, "You can't-"
*Bang*
She felt a bullet impact her side before her eyelids became heavy and she passed out. Wally holstered his gun again, "I needed to bring the sleeping rounds. Just in case she couldn't answer."
Lucy watched as the strange group of people started walking away as the large man gently picked Erza up in a bridal carry. They started walking away as she yelled after them, "Hey! Where do you think you're taking her?! Give her-AH!" The rope tightened and Lucy felt her body scream in pain but she persisted, "Give her back!"
Milliana waved the busty beauty goodbye, "Be careful~. Anymore more tension and you might snap."
"Hey Milliana." Wally walked up to the cat girl and held out his hand as an unconscious blue cat appeared in his hand, "I got you a present."
Milliana's eyes twinkled in joy as she grabbed the kitten and hugged it tightly, "Yay! Kitty!"
"Happy! Give him back!"
Shō led the group out the side exit and he looked back at his old friend resting in Simon's arms. Tears seemed to fill his eyes as he smiled, "It's okay Nee-San. It'll all be better once we go home."
Lucy watched with futile effort as they walked out the door and left her behind. She struggled to move and screamed out in panic-
"ERZA!"
########Hunter########
Done
And so it begins.
Are you guys ready? No? Me neither. Or am I? Just gonna have to wait and find out.
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